24/5/88
I am delighted, dear Sir Samuel, that the exploration of Central Australia beyond Lake Amadeus is proceeding this season under the auspices of the S.A. Branch of the R.G.S.A.,1 and I feel sure, that important results will be attained not only for geography, but for rural and mining interests also. Only a dozen years of the century are left, and good use will have to be made of each season to get the exploration of our continent completed within that time, as surely we all desire.
While congratulating your branch on the sending out of this Exploring party, into a region, which remains as one of the most promising to be explored, I would like to plead specially also yet for the cause of phytologic researches; and I trust that some special arrangements are made, to secure botanic specimens if even fragmentary only. Perhaps not many actually novel forms will be discovered, but from the whole unsearched regions beyond Lake Amadeus nothing will come amiss, because the geographic distribution of the numerous species of W.A. plants will have to be traced further, and your Expedition will probably be in a good position to determine the limits of many tropical plants southward and vice versa, while likely also the extent of the western so very peculiar vegetation can be ascertained Eastward. If the party would only daily trus[ts]2 sprigs of any kinds of plants, whether flowering or fruiting, into envelopes indiscriminately, valuable material for botanic records would be obtained and a good insight from such likewise be gained into the capabilities of the soils. I would have written earlier on this subject, but I learnt only last week at our geographic Meeting, that this new Expedition had been formed. Perhaps it is not yet too late, to telegraph to the party, should not special arrangements have been made, to render so splendid an opportunity without additional cost or toil profitable for the branch of science which I professionally represent.
With regardful salutation to Lady Davenport and yourself
Ferd von Mueller
Please cite as “FVM-88-05-24,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/88-05-24